Most businesses have been using traditional IT systems that are prone to anomalies and latency. This has resulted in companies moving forward with cloud adoption in many cases. Several cloud service providers offer excellent Cloud Enablement Services for various kinds of businesses. Data resources and systems are relocated to a facility that is not on-premise but is remote. The cloud is managed by the external service provider and can be accessed through the internet. The cloud adoption journey is challenging and comes with its own set of risks. However, companies can quickly initiate automation and use several advanced technological tools once the transition is complete.

How to Ensure Successful Cloud Adoption

A proper framework is necessary for any cloud adoption journey to be successful. A transition framework will help migrate the complete IT infrastructure, different business processes, and various departments. Since this journey is critical and the changes are long-term, one must ensure that the entire process is free of errors. The cloud adoption journey takes considerable time and thus requires thorough planning. There are six steps that businesses can follow to make the journey a success.

Step 1: Understanding the Impact of Cloud Adoption on the Business

Cloud adoption affects the entire business. So before starting the journey, decision-makers must consider how cloud will differ from the existing system. One must consider the security aspect of the cloud environment to minimize risks, understand data control implications and compliance and check if the benefits are worth the effort. During this first step, teams must analyze what tests they can do to ensure proper execution, which applications need to be migrated first, and the cloud deployment’s total cost of ownership (TCO).

Step 2: Checking Which Applications are Suitable for the Cloud

All applications are not suitable for a cloud environment. To check if an application can be shifted, one needs to look at the application’s design. If one cannot migrate the application to the cloud, it has to be modified. Most of the applications will not require code modifications and can be sent without any hassle. However, some may require minor changes to the design. If an application is not suitable for the cloud environment, it will have to be rewritten. That is the only way that companies can ensure it will function when migrated to the cloud. The entire process of reviewing an application can be complex and time-consuming. Therefore, the whole infrastructure needs to be checked. Such thorough checking will determine if there is an application that requires code modifications. If the suitable applications are migrated first, the cloud adoption journey will be more efficient.

Step 3: Deciding on a Specific Cloud Service Provider

There are many cloud environments available, and each service provider offers comprehensive tools for the cloud adoption journey. IT decision makers needs to decide which cloud service provider has the best cloud migration assessment tool for business. Companies need to check the support available, licensing, and capabilities that the tool has. Before choosing a specific cloud service provider, one must ensure that the services suit the workloads and applications migrated to the cloud. It is better to opt for a cloud environment that does not need too many complex code changes. Some companies may consider bringing their own licensing. However, this is a complicated procedure and can be expensive. Therefore, one should check if they can use the existing licensing. It is also best to choose a cloud service provider that offers service right from start to finish. It helps with all pre-migration and post-migration issues.

Step 4: Initiating Early Adoption

During initial migration or the early stages of cloud adoption, companies utilize tools like software as a service (SaaS). Critical applications are usually not migrated at first. Applications that are not essential to the business are migrated first. The initial process is almost like a test as it checks if the adoption process will be without errors. Applications used for office production like G-Suite and Office 365, customer relations management, human resources, and accounting are migrated initially. One can also decide to migrate various collaborative tools during this stage.

The reason why applications critical to the business are migrated first is that they require platform as a service (PaaS) solutions. These solutions help to migrate the complete infrastructure without any glitches. Usually, applications for enterprise resource planning (ERP), production, warehousing are migrated after the initial stage is complete.

Step 5: Starting Migration of All Applications

After the initial stages, the company can start completing the migration. But testing is required every step of the way. Rigorous testing even during complete migration is essential to ensure that crucial applications do not face downtime. While migrating, there should be a recovery plan in case there is a glitch in the journey.

Step 6: Monitoring Post-Migration Performance

Once the migration is complete, operations teams need to compare the performance before and after migration. Post-migration performance has to be monitored to understand if it meets the standards set in the service level agreements. At times, there might be issues related to customer service. These issues usually occur right after the migration. There might also be specific undesirable changes that require rectification.

Tackling Challenges in Cloud Adoption

While data center migration planning tools are available for businesses, the process has some challenges. The first of them is not knowing which applications will fit the cloud. It is essential to understand the design of each application and whether or not it requires any modifications. Dividing the migration process into two different stages can also be challenging. The initial migration stage is of utmost importance. The business cannot choose to transfer critical applications during this stage. Therefore, IT professionals and operations teams must diligently choose applications and initiate the early migration process.

Some challenges remain even after the cloud adoption journey is complete. These are usually related to the optimization and security of the cloud. If a business is investing in a reliable cloud service provider, then these issues will not be difficult to handle.

Conclusion

Choosing the right cloud service provider is essential. The tools offered by the service provider affect the entire cloud adoption journey. Businesses should rely on strong framework and analyze the entire host of tools available to ensure that their cloud migration journey is successful.